Governor Carcieri Promotes Biotechnology Partnerships as Key to Economic Development

When Gov. Donald Carcieri delivered his first "State of the State Address" on February 4, 2003, it contained an abundance of good news for the University of Rhode Island (URI) biotechnology initiative. Citing the creation of high-paying jobs as a top priority of his administration, Carcieri zeroed in on partnerships between institutions of higher learning and the growing biotechnology industry in Rhode Island as a prime means for achieving this goal. The following endeavors will help make that vision a reality:

URI Center for Biotechnology and Molecular Biosciences

I am proposing that we build a new Center for Biotechnology and Molecular Biosciences at URI. Such a Center will attract world experts and businesses, alike. Folks who will bring high quality jobs with them.

—Gov. Donald Carcieri
State of the State Address

The major component of URI’s biotechnology initiative, the Center for Biotechnology and Molecular Biosciences will house 21st century research laboratories, including core facilities for DNA sequencing and genomics. Gov. Carcieri has included $300,000 in the 2003 state budget for the conceptual design for the center, in addition to $200,000 appropriated by last year’s legislature, and a national search to select an architectural firm is nearly complete. In 2004, the state’s voters will be asked to approve a $50 million bond referendum for this project, which also includes the renovation of the existing URI Biological Sciences building.

The completed center will serve as an integrating focus for the life sciences at URI, bringing together molecular biologists and biotechnologists from around the campus and creating a stimulating intellectual environment in Kingston for cutting-edge research that will help drive Rhode Island’s new economy. Both graduate and undergraduate students will have significant, hands-on opportunities to perform research in the new center and to acquire the skills required for high-paying careers in biotechnology.

Equally as important, Rhode Island’s congressional delegation has obtained over $900,000 in federal funds to support the hiring of new scientists in biotechnology and molecular biology at URI and to purchase state-of-the-art equipment. This investment is critical for Rhode Island to continue to attract the best minds in biotechnology today.

In Massachusetts, the development of the Route 128 high-tech corridor around Boston was stimulated to a large degree by the ability of faculty at institutions such as MIT to enter into commercial ventures based on their research and inventions. In North Carolina, a similar flow of intellectual capital from the universities into the marketplace spurred the development of that state’s famed Research Triangle. In Rhode Island, however, professors at URI and other state institutions of higher education are prohibited by law from forming relationships with, or holding interests in, commercial ventures stemming from their research. Passage of the Public-Private Partnership Act, supported by Gov. Carcieri, Senate President William Irons, House Majority Leader Gordon Fox, and Lt. Gov. Charles Fogarty, would reverse that situation and create exciting opportunities for collaborations between URI faculty members, biotechnology companies, and business entrepreneurs. It would also enable the university to attract and hire outstanding faculty who would offer an unparalleled education to URI students.

Workforce Training

I am proposing that we dramatically increase our investment in worker training programs….We will send a strong message to biotech firms across the globe that Rhode Island is ready to supply the talented workforce that 21st century companies demand.

—Gov. Donald Carcieri
State of the State Address

URI’s partnerships with biotechnology companies have already resulted in internships and high-paying jobs for URI graduates and new employees for the biotechnology industry. Three new initiatives will further strengthen these partnerships and enhance workforce development. First, a new educational program, the Biotechnology Manufacturing Training Program will begin at the URI Providence Campus in fall 2003 (see story on page 16). The program will provide an intensive freshman experience, including hands-on lab work and a summer internship, that will enable students to work full-time in biotechnology manufacturing companies after their first year and complete their bachelor’s degree as part-time students. The program centerpiece, the training lab, is funded by a $300,000 state appropriation, a $100,000 grant from the Rhode Island Human Resource Investment Council, and a $25,000 donation from Amgen, the state’s biggest biotechnology company. Second, Gov. Carcieri requested $300,000 in the state’s fiscal 2004 budget for URI to provide a conceptual plan for a $5 million Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Training Facility. One of only a few in the nation, the facility would operate as a kind of "flight simulator" for training employees for the biopharmaceutical manufacturing industry. Third, on March 28, 2003, URI president Robert Carothers signed an agreement with the agricultural biotechnology firm HybriGene, Inc. that will allow its researchers to use space at URI. The first such agreement between the university and a commercial entity, it will provide additional internships for students and make URI a partner in patents awarded to HybriGene as well as support product development for one of Rhode Island’s most important agricultural industries, turf grass production (see story on page 13).

"We’re excited to be working with Gov. Carcieri, Lt. Gov. Fogarty, the state legislature, and our biotechnology industry partners on these challenging projects and realizing a new vision of economic development for our state," says Jeff Seemann, URI College of the Environment and Life Sciences dean and Land Grant director. 

—Arliss Ryan